Clone efficiency in a hybrid storage cloud environment

ABSTRACT

An efficient cloning mechanism is provided for a distributed storage environment, where, for example, a private cloud computing environment and a public cloud computing environment are included in a hybrid cloud computing environment (on-premise object storage to off-premise computation resources), to improve computation workloads. The disclosed algorithm forms an efficient cloning mechanism in a hybrid storage environment where the read/write speed of data from the disk is not limited by its angular velocity.

BACKGROUND

The present invention relates generally to the field of distributedcomputer resources, and more particularly to cloning efficiency betweendistributed storage environments.

Computation efficiency is improved by modifying the cloning mechanism ina distributed storage environment, such as found in a hybrid computingsystem environment (hybrid cloud). According to the definition, a hybridcloud can be defined as a combination of a private computing systemenvironment (private cloud) combined with the use of the public servicesof a public computing system environment (public cloud) where one orseveral touch points exist between the computing environments. The goalof a hybrid cloud is to combine services and data from a variety ofcloud models to create a unified, automated, and well-manageddistributed computing system environment.

A distributed computing system environment is referred to as “hybrid” ifit satisfies the following requirements: (i) a company uses a publicdevelopment platform that sends data to a private cloud or to a datacenter based application; (ii) when a company leverages a number of SaaS(software as a service) applications and migrates data between privatecloud or data center resources; and (iii) when a business process isdesigned as a service so that it can connect with multiple computingsystem environments as though they were a single computing systemenvironment.

A distributed computing environment is not referred to as “hybrid” if itfalls into the following categories: (i) a few developers in a companyuse a public cloud service to prototype a new application that iscompletely disconnected from the private cloud or the data center;and/or (ii) a company is using a SaaS application for a project, butthere is no movement of data from that application into the company'sdata center.

Hard drives are fastest on the outer area of the drive because they usea constant data density. Because the outer area of the drive is abouttwice the circumference of the inner area, twice the data passes underthe drive head in the outer area than in the inner area with eachrotation of the platter.

This difference in speed suggests that improved performance is availablewhere the most important and/or frequently-accessed data is placed inthe outer area, or outer partition, of the platter. That is, the seektime and the data transfer rates are each improved.

Shingled magnetic recording (SMR) is a magnetic storage data recordingtechnology used in hard disk drives (HDDs) to increase storage densityand overall per-drive storage capacity. Some hard disk drives recorddata by writing non-overlapping magnetic tracks parallel to each other,while SMR writes new tracks that overlap part of the previously writtenmagnetic track, leaving the previous track thinner and allowing forhigher track density.

SUMMARY

According to an aspect of the present invention, there is a computerprogram product and system for improving the clone efficiency between apublic cloud environment and a private cloud environment of a hybridcloud computing environment by leveraging the speed variations betweeninner partitioned tracks of a storage disk and outer partitioned tracksof the storage disk of the private cloud environment that performs thefollowing steps (not necessarily in the following order): (i) receivinga request for a clone operation for a target data on a storage disk of aprivate cloud environment from the public cloud environment where thepublic cloud environment provides a computing resource for a processingoperation performed by the hybrid cloud computing environment, (ii)identifying a current track location of the target data on the storagedisk, and (iii) upon meeting a condition that the target data is locatedon the inner partitioned tracks of the storage disk, performing aninternal alteration of the current track location of target data to aset of outer partitioned tracks of the storage disk prior to the cloningoperation performed by the public cloud environment. The private cloudenvironment provides the storage disk for the processing operationperformed by the hybrid cloud computing environment.

According to an aspect of the present invention, there is a computerprogram product and system for improving the clone efficiency in ahybrid cloud environment between a corresponding public cloudenvironment and a corresponding private cloud environment by leveragingthe speed variations between an inner partitioned set of tracks of astorage disk and an outer partitioned set of tracks of the storage diskstored in the public cloud environment that performs the following steps(not necessarily in the following order): (i) receiving a request for aclone operation for a target data from the private cloud environment,the target data located in the public cloud environment where the publiccloud environment provides the storage disk for a processing operationperformed by the hybrid cloud computing environment, (ii) estimating animportance level of the target data by determining at least whether thetarget data includes intermittent data to be used by the computeresource for the processing operation of the private cloud environmentwhere the private cloud environment provides the compute resource forthe processing operation performed by the hybrid cloud computingenvironment, and (iii) determining whether to write the target data tothe inner partitioned set of tracks or to the outer partitioned set oftracks of the storage disk based, at least in part, on the importancelevel of the target data with respect to the processing operation.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 depicts a cloud computing node used in a first embodiment of asystem according to the present invention;

FIG. 2 depicts an embodiment of a cloud computing environment (alsocalled the “first embodiment system”) according to the presentinvention;

FIG. 3 depicts abstraction model layers used in the first embodimentsystem;

FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing a first embodiment method performed, atleast in part, by the first embodiment system;

FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing a machine logic (for example,software) portion of the first embodiment system;

FIG. 6 depicts a second embodiment of a cloud computing environmentaccording to some embodiments of the present invention;

FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing a first embodiment method performed, atleast in part, by the second embodiment system; and

FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing a second embodiment method performed, atleast in part, by the second embodiment system.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

An efficient cloning mechanism is provided for a distributed storageenvironment, where, for example, a private cloud computing environmentand a public cloud computing environment are included in a hybrid cloudcomputing environment (on-premise object storage to off-premisecomputation resources), to improve computation workloads. The disclosedalgorithm forms an efficient cloning mechanism in a hybrid storageenvironment where the read/write speed of data from the disk is notlimited by its angular velocity. This Detailed Description section isdivided into the following sub-sections: (i) The Hardware and SoftwareEnvironment; (ii) Example Embodiment; (iii) Further Comments and/orEmbodiments; and (iv) Definitions.

I. The Hardware and Software Environment

The present invention may be a system, a method, and/or a computerprogram product. The computer program product may include a computerreadable storage medium (or media) having computer readable programinstructions thereon for causing a processor to carry out aspects of thepresent invention.

The computer readable storage medium can be a tangible device that canretain and store instructions for use by an instruction executiondevice. The computer readable storage medium may be, for example, but isnot limited to, an electronic storage device, a magnetic storage device,an optical storage device, an electromagnetic storage device, asemiconductor storage device, or any suitable combination of theforegoing. A non-exhaustive list of more specific examples of thecomputer readable storage medium includes the following: a portablecomputer diskette, a hard disk, a random access memory (RAM), aread-only memory (ROM), an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROMor Flash memory), a static random access memory (SRAM), a portablecompact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM), a digital versatile disk (DVD),a memory stick, a floppy disk, a mechanically encoded device such aspunch-cards or raised structures in a groove having instructionsrecorded thereon, and any suitable combination of the foregoing. Acomputer readable storage medium, as used herein, is not to be construedas being transitory signals per se, such as radio waves or other freelypropagating electromagnetic waves, electromagnetic waves propagatingthrough a waveguide or other transmission media (e.g., light pulsespassing through a fiber-optic cable), or electrical signals transmittedthrough a wire.

Computer readable program instructions described herein can bedownloaded to respective computing/processing devices from a computerreadable storage medium or to an external computer or external storagedevice via a network, for example, the Internet, a local area network, awide area network and/or a wireless network. The network may comprisecopper transmission cables, optical transmission fibers, wirelesstransmission, routers, firewalls, switches, gateway computers and/oredge servers. A network adapter card or network interface in eachcomputing/processing device receives computer readable programinstructions from the network and forwards the computer readable programinstructions for storage in a computer readable storage medium withinthe respective computing/processing device.

Computer readable program instructions for carrying out operations ofthe present invention may be assembler instructions,instruction-set-architecture (ISA) instructions, machine instructions,machine dependent instructions, microcode, firmware instructions,state-setting data, or either source code or object code written in anycombination of one or more programming languages, including an objectoriented programming language such as Smalltalk, C++ or the like, andconventional procedural programming languages, such as the “C”programming language or similar programming languages. The computerreadable program instructions may execute entirely on the user'scomputer, partly on the user's computer, as a stand-alone softwarepackage, partly on the user's computer and partly on a remote computeror entirely on the remote computer or server. In the latter scenario,the remote computer may be connected to the user's computer through anytype of network, including a local area network (LAN) or a wide areanetwork (WAN), or the connection may be made to an external computer(for example, through the Internet using an Internet Service Provider).In some embodiments, electronic circuitry including, for example,programmable logic circuitry, field-programmable gate arrays (FPGA), orprogrammable logic arrays (PLA) may execute the computer readableprogram instructions by utilizing state information of the computerreadable program instructions to personalize the electronic circuitry,in order to perform aspects of the present invention.

Aspects of the present invention are described herein with reference toflowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams of methods, apparatus(systems), and computer program products according to embodiments of theinvention. It will be understood that each block of the flowchartillustrations and/or block diagrams, and combinations of blocks in theflowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams, can be implemented bycomputer readable program instructions.

These computer readable program instructions may be provided to aprocessor of a general purpose computer, special purpose computer, orother programmable data processing apparatus to produce a machine, suchthat the instructions, which execute via the processor of the computeror other programmable data processing apparatus, create means forimplementing the functions/acts specified in the flowchart and/or blockdiagram block or blocks. These computer readable program instructionsmay also be stored in a computer readable storage medium that can directa computer, a programmable data processing apparatus, and/or otherdevices to function in a particular manner, such that the computerreadable storage medium having instructions stored therein comprises anarticle of manufacture including instructions which implement aspects ofthe function/act specified in the flowchart and/or block diagram blockor blocks.

The computer readable program instructions may also be loaded onto acomputer, other programmable data processing apparatus, or other deviceto cause a series of operational steps to be performed on the computer,other programmable apparatus or other device to produce a computerimplemented process, such that the instructions which execute on thecomputer, other programmable apparatus, or other device implement thefunctions/acts specified in the flowchart and/or block diagram block orblocks.

The flowchart and block diagrams in the Figures illustrate thearchitecture, functionality, and operation of possible implementationsof systems, methods, and computer program products according to variousembodiments of the present invention. In this regard, each block in theflowchart or block diagrams may represent a module, segment, or portionof instructions, which comprises one or more executable instructions forimplementing the specified logical function(s). In some alternativeimplementations, the functions noted in the block may occur out of theorder noted in the figures. For example, two blocks shown in successionmay, in fact, be executed substantially concurrently, or the blocks maysometimes be executed in the reverse order, depending upon thefunctionality involved. It will also be noted that each block of theblock diagrams and/or flowchart illustration, and combinations of blocksin the block diagrams and/or flowchart illustration, can be implementedby special purpose hardware-based systems that perform the specifiedfunctions or acts or carry out combinations of special purpose hardwareand computer instructions.

It is understood in advance that although this disclosure includes adetailed description on cloud computing, implementation of the teachingsrecited herein are not limited to a cloud computing environment. Rather,embodiments of the present invention are capable of being implemented inconjunction with any other type of computing environment now known orlater developed.

Cloud computing is a model of service delivery for enabling convenient,on-demand network access to a shared pool of configurable computingresources (e.g. networks, network bandwidth, servers, processing,memory, storage, applications, virtual machines, and services) that canbe rapidly provisioned and released with minimal management effort orinteraction with a provider of the service. This cloud model may includeat least five characteristics, at least three service models, and atleast four deployment models.

Characteristics are as Follows:

On-demand self-service: a cloud consumer can unilaterally provisioncomputing capabilities, such as server time and network storage, asneeded automatically without requiring human interaction with theservice's provider.

Broad network access: capabilities are available over a network andaccessed through standard mechanisms that promote use by heterogeneousthin or thick client platforms (e.g., mobile phones, laptops, and PDAs).

Resource pooling: the provider's computing resources are pooled to servemultiple consumers using a multi-tenant model, with different physicaland virtual resources dynamically assigned and reassigned according todemand. There is a sense of location independence in that the consumergenerally has no control or knowledge over the exact location of theprovided resources but may be able to specify location at a higher levelof abstraction (e.g., country, state, or datacenter).

Rapid elasticity: capabilities can be rapidly and elasticallyprovisioned, in some cases automatically, to quickly scale out andrapidly released to quickly scale in. To the consumer, the capabilitiesavailable for provisioning often appear to be unlimited and can bepurchased in any quantity at any time.

Measured service: cloud systems automatically control and optimizeresource use by leveraging a metering capability at some level ofabstraction appropriate to the type of service (e.g., storage,processing, bandwidth, and active user accounts). Resource usage can bemonitored, controlled, and reported providing transparency for both theprovider and consumer of the utilized service.

Service Models are as Follows:

Software as a Service (SaaS): the capability provided to the consumer isto use the provider's applications running on a cloud infrastructure.The applications are accessible from various client devices through athin client interface such as a web browser (e.g., web-based email). Theconsumer does not manage or control the underlying cloud infrastructureincluding network, servers, operating systems, storage, or evenindividual application capabilities, with the possible exception oflimited user-specific application configuration settings.

Platform as a Service (PaaS): the capability provided to the consumer isto deploy onto the cloud infrastructure consumer-created or acquiredapplications created using programming languages and tools supported bythe provider. The consumer does not manage or control the underlyingcloud infrastructure including networks, servers, operating systems, orstorage, but has control over the deployed applications and possiblyapplication hosting environment configurations.

Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS): the capability provided to theconsumer is to provision processing, storage, networks, and otherfundamental computing resources where the consumer is able to deploy andrun arbitrary software, which can include operating systems andapplications. The consumer does not manage or control the underlyingcloud infrastructure but has control over operating systems, storage,deployed applications, and possibly limited control of select networkingcomponents (e.g., host firewalls).

Deployment Models are as Follows:

Private cloud: the cloud infrastructure is operated solely for anorganization. It may be managed by the organization or a third party andmay exist on-premises or off-premises.

Community cloud: the cloud infrastructure is shared by severalorganizations and supports a specific community that has shared concerns(e.g., mission, security requirements, policy, and complianceconsiderations). It may be managed by the organizations or a third partyand may exist on-premises or off-premises.

Public cloud: the cloud infrastructure is made available to the generalpublic or a large industry group and is owned by an organization sellingcloud services.

Hybrid cloud: the cloud infrastructure is a composition of two or moreclouds (private, community, or public) that remain unique entities butare bound together by standardized or proprietary technology thatenables data and application portability (e.g., cloud bursting forload-balancing between clouds).

A cloud computing environment is service oriented with a focus onstatelessness, low coupling, modularity, and semantic interoperability.At the heart of cloud computing is an infrastructure comprising anetwork of interconnected nodes.

Referring now to FIG. 1 , a schematic of an example of a cloud computingnode is shown. Cloud computing node 10 is only one example of a suitablecloud computing node and is not intended to suggest any limitation as tothe scope of use or functionality of embodiments of the inventiondescribed herein. Regardless, cloud computing node 10 is capable ofbeing implemented and/or performing any of the functionality set forthhereinabove.

In cloud computing node 10 there is a computer system/server 12, whichis operational with numerous other general purpose or special purposecomputing system environments or configurations. Examples of well-knowncomputing systems, environments, and/or configurations that may besuitable for use with computer system/server 12 include, but are notlimited to, personal computer systems, server computer systems, thinclients, thick clients, handheld or laptop devices, multiprocessorsystems, microprocessor-based systems, set top boxes, programmableconsumer electronics, network PCs, minicomputer systems, mainframecomputer systems, and distributed cloud computing environments thatinclude any of the above systems or devices, and the like.

Computer system/server 12 may be described in the general context ofcomputer system executable instructions, such as program modules, beingexecuted by a computer system. Generally, program modules may includeroutines, programs, objects, components, logic, data structures, and soon that perform particular tasks or implement particular abstract datatypes. Computer system/server 12 may be practiced in distributed cloudcomputing environments where tasks are performed by remote processingdevices that are linked through a communications network. In adistributed cloud computing environment, program modules may be locatedin both local and remote computer system storage media including memorystorage devices.

As shown in FIG. 1 , computer system/server 12 in cloud computing node10 is shown in the form of a general-purpose computing device. Thecomponents of computer system/server 12 may include, but are not limitedto, one or more processors or processing units 16, a system memory 28,and a bus 18 that couples various system components including systemmemory 28 to processor 16.

Bus 18 represents one or more of any of several types of bus structures,including a memory bus or memory controller, a peripheral bus, anaccelerated graphics port, and a processor or local bus using any of avariety of bus architectures. By way of example, and not limitation,such architectures include Industry Standard Architecture (ISA) bus,Micro Channel Architecture (MCA) bus, Enhanced ISA (EISA) bus, VideoElectronics Standards Association (VESA) local bus, and PeripheralComponent Interconnect (PCI) bus.

Computer system/server 12 typically includes a variety of computersystem readable media. Such media may be any available media that isaccessible by computer system/server 12, and it includes both volatileand non-volatile media, removable and non-removable media.

System memory 28 can include computer system readable media in the formof volatile memory, such as random access memory (RAM) 30 and/or cachememory 32. Computer system/server 12 may further include otherremovable/non-removable, volatile/non-volatile computer system storagemedia. By way of example only, storage system 34 can be provided forreading from and writing to a non-removable, non-volatile magnetic media(not shown and typically called a “hard drive”). Although not shown, amagnetic disk drive for reading from and writing to a removable,non-volatile magnetic disk (e.g., a “floppy disk”), and an optical diskdrive for reading from or writing to a removable, non-volatile opticaldisk such as a CD-ROM, DVD-ROM or other optical media can be provided.In such instances, each can be connected to bus 18 by one or more datamedia interfaces. As will be further depicted and described below,memory 28 may include at least one program product having a set (e.g.,at least one) of program modules that are configured to carry out thefunctions of embodiments of the invention.

Program/utility 40, having a set (at least one) of program modules 42,may be stored in memory 28 by way of example, and not limitation, aswell as an operating system, one or more application programs, otherprogram modules, and program data. Each of the operating system, one ormore application programs, other program modules, and program data orsome combination thereof, may include an implementation of a networkingenvironment. Program modules 42 generally carry out the functions and/ormethodologies of embodiments of the invention as described herein.

Computer system/server 12 may also communicate with one or more externaldevices 14 such as a keyboard, a pointing device, a display 24, etc.;one or more devices that enable a user to interact with computersystem/server 12; and/or any devices (e.g., network card, modem, etc.)that enable computer system/server 12 to communicate with one or moreother computing devices. Such communication can occur via Input/Output(I/O) interfaces 22. Still yet, computer system/server 12 cancommunicate with one or more networks such as a local area network(LAN), a general wide area network (WAN), and/or a public network (e.g.,the Internet) via network adapter 20. As depicted, network adapter 20communicates with the other components of computer system/server 12 viabus 18. It should be understood that although not shown, other hardwareand/or software components could be used in conjunction with computersystem/server 12. Examples include, but are not limited to: microcode,device drivers, redundant processing units, external disk drive arrays,RAID systems, tape drives, and data archival storage systems, etc.

Referring now to FIG. 2 , illustrative cloud computing environment 50 isdepicted. As shown, cloud computing environment 50 comprises one or morecloud computing nodes 10 with which local computing devices used bycloud consumers, such as, for example, personal digital assistant (PDA)or cellular telephone 54A, desktop computer 54B, laptop computer 54C,and/or automobile computer system 54N may communicate. Nodes 10 maycommunicate with one another. They may be grouped (not shown) physicallyor virtually, in one or more networks, such as Private, Community,Public, or Hybrid clouds as described hereinabove, or a combinationthereof. This allows cloud computing environment 50 to offerinfrastructure, platforms and/or software as services for which a cloudconsumer does not need to maintain resources on a local computingdevice. It is understood that the types of computing devices 54A-N shownin FIG. 2 are intended to be illustrative only and that computing nodes10 and cloud computing environment 50 can communicate with any type ofcomputerized device over any type of network and/or network addressableconnection (e.g., using a web browser).

Referring now to FIG. 3 , a set of functional abstraction layersprovided by cloud computing environment 50 (FIG. 2 ) is shown. It shouldbe understood in advance that the components, layers, and functionsshown in FIG. 3 are intended to be illustrative only and embodiments ofthe invention are not limited thereto. As depicted, the following layersand corresponding functions are provided:

Hardware and software layer 60 includes hardware and softwarecomponents. Examples of hardware components include mainframes; RISC(Reduced Instruction Set Computer) architecture based servers; storagedevices; networks and networking components. In some embodimentssoftware components include network application server software.

Virtualization layer 62 provides an abstraction layer from which thefollowing examples of virtual entities may be provided: virtual servers;virtual storage; virtual networks, including virtual private networks;virtual applications and operating systems; and virtual clients.

In one example, management layer 64 may provide the functions describedbelow. Resource provisioning provides dynamic procurement of computingresources and other resources that are utilized to perform tasks withinthe cloud computing environment. Metering and Pricing provide costtracking as resources are utilized within the cloud computingenvironment, and billing or invoicing for consumption of theseresources. In one example, these resources may comprise applicationsoftware licenses. Security provides identity verification for cloudconsumers and tasks, as well as protection for data and other resources.User portal provides access to the cloud computing environment forconsumers and system administrators. Service level management providescloud computing resource allocation and management such that requiredservice levels are met. Service Level Agreement (SLA) planning andfulfillment provide pre-arrangement for, and procurement of, cloudcomputing resources for which a future requirement is anticipated inaccordance with an SLA.

Workloads layer 66 provides examples of functionality for which thecloud computing environment may be utilized. Examples of workloads andfunctions which may be provided from this layer include: mapping andnavigation; software development and lifecycle management; virtualclassroom education delivery; data analytics processing; transactionprocessing; and functionality according to the present invention (seefunction block 66 a) as will be discussed in detail, below, in thefollowing sub-sections of this Detailed description section.

The programs described herein are identified based upon the applicationfor which they are implemented in a specific embodiment of theinvention. However, it should be appreciated that any particular programnomenclature herein is used merely for convenience, and thus theinvention should not be limited to use solely in any specificapplication identified and/or implied by such nomenclature.

The descriptions of the various embodiments of the present inventionhave been presented for purposes of illustration, but are not intendedto be exhaustive or limited to the embodiments disclosed. Manymodifications and variations will be apparent to those of ordinary skillin the art without departing from the scope and spirit of the describedembodiments. The terminology used herein was chosen to best explain theprinciples of the embodiments, the practical application or technicalimprovement over technologies found in the marketplace, or to enableothers of ordinary skill in the art to understand the embodimentsdisclosed herein.

II. Example Embodiment

Some embodiments of the present invention are directed to an algorithmor method that facilitates an efficient cloning mechanism within ahybrid distributed storage environment, such as one including bothprivate cloud and public cloud environments, to improve the computationworkloads. FIG. 4 shows flowchart 250 depicting a method according tothe present invention. FIG. 5 shows program 300 for performing at leastsome of the method steps of flowchart 250. This method and associatedsoftware will now be discussed, over the course of the followingparagraphs, with extensive reference to FIG. 4 (for the method stepblocks) and FIG. 5 (for the software blocks). One physical locationwhere program 300 of FIG. 5 may be stored is in storage block 60 a (seeFIG. 3 ).

Processing begins at step S255, where target data module (“mod”) 355receives a request for target data in a hybrid distributed storageenvironment (e.g. hybrid cloud). In this example, the target dataresides in the private cloud computing environment (private cloud) ofthe hybrid cloud. A data clone operation is triggered by the publiccloud computing environment (public cloud). That is, data blocks of thepublic cloud needs to be replicated with blocks of the private cloud.Alternatively, the target data is already existing in the private cloudand a clone operation of the same data is requested by the public cloud.Alternatively, the data clone operation is triggered by the privatecloud component of the hybrid cloud to target data residing in thepublic cloud component.

Processing proceeds to step S260, where current location mod 360identifies a current location of the target data with respect to theinner and outer tracks, or zones, of a storage disk. In this example,the current location mod identifies whether the requested raw data, suchas an image or virtual machine templates, are residing in inner tracksor outer tracks of the storage disks of the private cloud computingenvironment. One example of a storage disk is one based on shingledmagnetic recording (SMR) technology. Other examples of storage disks areprovided above, in the Hardware and Software Environment section.

Throughout this detailed description reference is made to the innertracks and outer tracks of a data storage disk. These tracks are locatedin what is often referred to as the inner and outer zones of the disk.Conventional disk drives use zone bit recording such that the writespeed is higher in the outer zone than in the inner zone. The specificboundary between the inner and outer zones should be consideredarbitrary for the purposes of this disclosure. The described processtakes advantage of the varied write speeds at the inner and outer zonesfor improved cloning operation efficiency.

Processing proceeds to step S265, where cloning location mod 365determines, based on pre-defined criteria, where the target data shouldbe located for a cloning operation. Having identified the location ofthe target data in step S260, a determination is made regarding possiblyaltering the current location of the data blocks. Various criteriainfluence the outcome of this determination. In this example, thedetermination includes: (i) calculation of the target data size; (ii)determination of the network speed; and (iii) the gain is calculated interms of total time for the clone operation, the block locationalteration(s), CPU (central processing unit) resource(s), and networkresource(s). If the target data size is higher than average, it is aqualifying data size. If the gain, in terms of resources, is higher thanaverage, it is a qualifying gain. Where a qualifying data size and/or aqualifying gain is determined, the target data is internally mapped tothe outer tracks and served to the public cloud computing environmentfrom the outer tracks of the storage disk.

Alternatively, demand for the target data is calculated to determine ademand criteria. That is, it is determined whether the demand for theclone-based data is readily required or is likely needed after someperiod of time. According to the outcome of this demand criteria, theblock location(s) may be altered, or moved, from the outer tracks to theinner tracks of the storage disk. As stated above, the outer diskrepresents the location of data that is needed more quickly and shouldbe readily available.

Alternatively, the importance of the target data is estimated. Theimportance refers whether the target data is important, processedresults, or intermittent data of the computation engine or whether thetarget data is non-important and/or demands a non-term storage. Ifimportant, the target data is determined to be directly cloned to theouter tracks of the disk residing at the on-premise location, or privatecloud. If non-important, the target data is determined to be directlywritten to inner tracks of the disk residing at the off-premiselocation, or public cloud.

Alternatively, if the target data content is an image, such as anoperating system or ISO, along with a separated data partition, or aseparate disk, or volume, the determination may be to segregate theimage file from the data volume, writing the image file to the innertracks and the data volume to the outer tracks. In some embodiments ofthe present invention, this determination is made based on a definedquality of service (QoS) pattern.

Processing proceeds to step S270, where alter location mod 370 altersthe block location(s) of the target data according to where the targetdata should be located. Upon determining, in step S265, where the targetdata should be located, the alter location mod takes the appropriateaction to alter location(s) of the data blocks.

Processing ends with step S275, where clone operation mod 375 performsthe clone operation according to the request for the target data,received in step S265.

III. Further Comments and/or Embodiments

Having the above background understanding and assuming an example hybriddistributed storage environment scenario where, in a private cloudcomputing environment (private cloud), an organization uses objectstorage for storing long term images, VM (virtual machine) templates,and/or processed information. Further, the organization has chosen apublic cloud computing environment (public cloud) for its computationand/or analytics workload. This example scenario illustrates that theorganization on-premise (private) infrastructure is rich in terms ofstorage and network, whereas it relies on off-premise (public) forcomputation purposes. Because the on-premise infrastructure is storagerich, the organization is not interested in purchasing storage from apublic cloud computing environment (it can simply purchase computationresources with a bare minimum storage).

In this kind of hybrid cloud computing environment, raw data (images, VMtemplates, unstructured data, and structured data) flows from on-premisestorage to off-premise computation. Assuming further, for example, thata situation arises where the off-premise computation workload requiresan image that is stored on the inner disk tracks of on-premise objectstorage (slow speed). In this example, a cloning operation is triggeredover the image resulting in the cloning operation taking more time tocomplete than necessary, even if the network bandwidth is large enoughto support a shorter cloning operation time. Even though the networkbandwidth and the CPU (central processing unit) is large enough, theread speed for reading the image file from the storage disk is limitedbecause its angular velocity at the inner tracks is low relative to thespeed of the outer disk.

Some embodiments of the present invention recognize the following facts,potential problems and/or potential areas for improvement with respectto the current state of the art: (i) inefficient cloning speed is due toimage file location i.e. inner tracks of a large capacity disk; (ii)conventional cloning algorithms are not aware of variations in disktrack speed, resulting in inefficiency in the case of hybrid cloudenvironments; (iii) a typical benchmark report states that, for diskstorage, the speed ratio is usually close to a 100/60 (outerpartition/inner partition) ratio (that is, a disk drive that is capableof 120 MB/sec on the outer tracks might yield 72 MB/sec on the innertracks); and/or (iv) even though the network bandwidth and the CPUresources are available, a clone operation may be limited by the diskspeed (as the image file may be stored in an inner disk partition.

Some embodiments of the present invention are directed to an algorithm,or method, that facilitates an efficient cloning mechanism between theprivate cloud and the public cloud (e,g. on-premise object storage tooff-premise computation resources) of a hybrid cloud computingenvironment, which, in-turn, improves the computation workloads.

According to some embodiments of the present invention, when an end userwants to clone the raw data (such as images, VM templates, unstructureddata, and/or structured data) residing at inner disk tracks ofon-premise storage (private cloud) to off-premise computation (publiccloud), the raw data is first cloned from the inner disk tracks to theouter disk tracks of the private cloud storage and then cloned to theremote public cloud storage location. Similarly, if an end user wants toclone a set of target data from the public cloud component of a hybridcloud computing environment to the private cloud component of the samehybrid cloud computing environment, both the importance of the targetdata and the potential future need of the target data by the publiccloud is estimated. If it is determined that the target data is bothimportant and that there is a potential future need for the target data,the target data is directly cloned, or otherwise written, to the outerpartitioned tracks of the private cloud storage disks(s). Similarly, ifthe target data (e.g. processed results) is not required any more forthe public cloud, the target data is directly cloned, or otherwisewritten, to the inner partitioned tracks of the private cloud storagedisk(s). This algorithm, as-described herein, forms an efficient cloningmechanism in a hybrid cloud computing environment where the read/writespeed of selected data from the storage disk(s) is selectively limitedby the angular velocity of the partition where the data is stored.

FIG. 6 illustrates a second embodiment system 400 for performing cloneoperation 440 according to an embodiment of the present invention. Theclone operation is cloning data from on-premise object storageinfrastructure 410 to off-premise compute infrastructure 420 viadedicated network tunnel 430. Within the object storage infrastructurethere resides storage disk 412 having outer disk partition, or track,414 and inner disk partition, or track, 416.

Some embodiments of the present invention apply a cloning algorithm thatimproves clone efficiency (private cloud 410 to public cloud 420) byleveraging the speed variations in a large capacity disk environment. Inone example application, the algorithm calculates the outer partitionclone operation speed, where the image file is cloned to outer diskpartition 414 and, then, later cloned to off-premise infrastructure 420.The outer partition clone operation speed is compared to the innerpartition clone operation speed, where the image file is cloned directlyfrom inner disk partition 416 to the off-premise infrastructure. If theouter partition clone operation speed is faster, the image files iscloned to the outer disk partition. When the clone operation iscompleted, either the outer partition copy or inner partition copy isdeleted according to access requirements.

In another example application, an off-premise cloning engine (withinoff-premise infrastructure 420) chooses whether to directly clone toinner disk partition 416 or to clone to outer disk partition 414, wherethe image file is cloned from the inner disk partition, based on theimportance of data and quality of service (QoS) required for selectedtracks. The cloning operation is made more efficient when the decisionis based on the QoS. For example, where the processed analytic resultsare determined to be of higher importance than the VM-templates, thecloning engine residing in off-premise infrastructure directly clonesthe analytic results file to outer disk partitions and VM-templates fileto inner disk partitions.

FIGS. 7 and 8 show flowcharts 500 and 600 respectively showing methodsdemonstrating the implementation of a cloning algorithm (cloning betweenprivate to public cloud components of a hybrid cloud computingenvironment) according to embodiments of the present invention. Method500 is a clone operation from private cloud storage S505 to public cloudstorage S510. Decision step S515 determines whether to perform atwo-step cloning process that clones from outer tracks to the publicstorage (S520) or to clone from inner tracks of the disk (S525). Method600 is a clone operation from public cloud storage S605 to private cloudstorage S610. Decision step S615 determines whether certain data blocksare required for public storage. If so, selected data blocks are writtento the outer tracks in private storage (S620) and, if not, selected datablocks are written to the inner tracks in private storage (S625).

Some embodiments of the present invention perform one or more of thefollowing actions as at least a portion of a cloning algorithm accordingto the present invention. The cloning algorithm helps improve the cloneefficiency between public and private cloud environment by leveragingthe speed variations between the inner disk partition and the outertracks of a disk: (i) identify the current track location of therequested data residing in the private cloud for clone operation by theprivate cloud compute environment; (ii) perform an internal alterationof blocks to outer tracks; (iii) identify the demand criteria (whetherthis clone based data is ready required or would be needed after sometime); (iv) alter the block locations from outer tracks to inner tracks,based on the identified demand criteria; (v) estimate the importance ofthe data; (vi) determine which track needs to be selected for writing atthe private cloud setup (if the data is important/processedresults/intermittent data of the computation engine this data will bedirectly cloned to the outer tracks of the disk residing at theon-premise and if the data is an non important and demands a non-termstorage then this data would be directly written to inner tracks of thedisk residing at the off-premise); (vii) define the QoS pattern wherethe data content comprises of image (such as an operating system or ISO)along with separated data partition or a separate disk or volume; and/or(viii) segregate the image file with the data volume and write imagefile to the inner tracks, write data volume to outer tracks based on thedefined QoS pattern.

Assume a clone of an image residing in the private cloud is triggered bythe public cloud (i.e. data blocks of public cloud needs to bereplicated with blocks of private cloud). The file system layer cloningworks without knowledge of the disk track speed variations. Identifywhether the requested raw data (image, VM-templates) are residing ininner tracks or outer tracks of the disks. If the requested data isresiding on inner tracks, calculate the requested data size, networkspeed and estimate the gain in terms of total time including the cloneoperation and block alterations from inner track to outer track, CPU andnetwork resources.

If the requested data size is higher than average and gain in terms ofresources are higher than average, the data will be internally mapped toouter tracks and are served to public cloud from outer tracks. Thestatus of “higher than average” is a “qualifying” status. Thedetermination of what is “average” depends generally on apre-determination by an organization or other decision-making authority.The basis of such a determination may be, for example, an aggressiveposition regarding the improvement, or optimization, of cloneefficiency. Regarding a particular size or gain that qualifies formapping to the outer tracks, the following considerations apply. Theminimum image or VM templates used in production environments variesfrom 1-5 GB and, in a typical scenario, copying the image from the outertrack to the inner track makes sense. However, doing so brings inunnecessary wastage of outer track space, disk health destruction, andso forth. While identification of the condition(s) that drive a mappingdecision should be left to the various designers and/or decision-makers,one point of consideration is that if the image size is greater thanthat of the network bandwidth or pipe available at a particular instanceof time, application timeout interval, or disk platter health themapping decision may be as follows: (i) if the network pipe is largeenough and the application timeout interval is large enough such that ifthe image can be read from the inner tracks, then no track positionchange would be made; (ii) if the network pipe is low and theapplication time out is strictly low, then a calculation is made as towhether it makes sense to copy the image from the inner tracks to theouter tracks; and (iii) if the network pipe is low and the applicationtimeout is low, but the disk platter health of the outer track is bad,or predicated to be prone to failure, when compared with the innertrack, then the image is not moved.

If the data is already existing in the private cloud and a cloneoperation of same data is requested by the public cloud to privatecloud. In this scenario estimate the demand (i.e. whether this clonebased data is ready required or would be needed after some time), basedon this identified demand criteria alter the block locations from outertracks to inner tracks.

If the data clone operation is triggered by the private cloud to thedata residing in the public cloud, estimate the importance of the dataand based on it decide which track needs to be selected for writing atthe private cloud setup (i.e. if the data is important/processedresults/intermittent data of the computation engine this data will bedirectly cloned to the outer tracks of the disk residing at theon-premise and if the data is an non important and demands a non-termstorage then this data would be directly written to inner tracks of thedisk residing at the off-premise).

If the data content comprises of image (such as operating system andISO) along with separated data partition or a separate disk or volume.In this case based on the QoS pattern defined, segregate the image filewith the data volume and write image file to the inner tracks, writedata volume to outer tracks.

Some embodiments of the present invention are directed to hybrid flashstorage technology, also referred to as an SSHD device, where NAND flashsolid-state drive (SSD) is combined with hard disk drive (HDD)technology. In hybrid flash storage technology, the initial write occurson the SSD and, later, the write is transferred to the HDD. Accordingly,the driver that reads the SSD and writes to HDD selects between theouter tracks and the inner tracks of the HDD based on factors including:(i) calculation of the target data size; (ii) determination of thenetwork speed; and (iii) the gain is calculated in terms of total timefor the clone operation, the block location alteration(s), CPU (centralprocessing unit) resource(s), and network resource(s), as discussedabove.

Some embodiments of the present invention are directed to mixed media,where the disk technology is identified (such as LMR (longitudinalmagnetic recording), PMR (perpendicular magnetic recording), and SMRtechnology) and, based on identified technology, the angular velocitygap is estimated to support a determination whether to write to theouter tracks and the inner tracks of the storage disk.

Some embodiments of the present invention may include one, or more, ofthe following features, characteristics and/or advantages: (i) abilityto clone data from outer sector of a disk to inner sector of other disk;(ii) ability to identify the sector and based on it clone to outersector and then later to requested clone party; (iii) ability to clonefrom one disk sector to other disk sector based on importance of thedata and its necessity in future; (iv) if clone operation is initiatedfor data residing at inner disk tracks of private to public cloud (thedata would be first cloned from inner disk tracks to the outer disktracks of private cloud and then later on would be cloned to the publiccloud); and/or (v) if the clone operation is initiated for data frompublic to private cloud, the importance of the data and its necessity infuture for the public cloud is estimated and based on the predication,the data is directly cloned to inner tracks or outer tracks of theprivate cloud disks.

IV. Definitions

Present invention: should not be taken as an absolute indication thatthe subject matter described by the term “present invention” is coveredby either the claims as they are filed, or by the claims that mayeventually issue after patent prosecution; while the term “presentinvention” is used to help the reader to get a general feel for whichdisclosures herein are believed to potentially be new, thisunderstanding, as indicated by use of the term “present invention,” istentative and provisional and subject to change over the course ofpatent prosecution as relevant information is developed and as theclaims are potentially amended.

Embodiment: see definition of “present invention” above—similar cautionsapply to the term “embodiment.”

and/or: inclusive or; for example, A, B “and/or” C means that at leastone of A or B or C is true and applicable.

Including/include/includes: unless otherwise explicitly noted, means“including but not necessarily limited to.”

Module/Sub-Module: any set of hardware, firmware and/or software thatoperatively works to do some kind of function, without regard to whetherthe module is: (i) in a single local proximity; (ii) distributed over awide area; (iii) in a single proximity within a larger piece of softwarecode; (iv) located within a single piece of software code; (v) locatedin a single storage device, memory or medium; (vi) mechanicallyconnected; (vii) electrically connected; and/or (viii) connected in datacommunication.

Computer: any device with significant data processing and/or machinereadable instruction reading capabilities including, but not limited to:desktop computers, mainframe computers, laptop computers,field-programmable gate array (FPGA) based devices, smart phones,personal digital assistants (PDAs), body-mounted or inserted computers,embedded device style computers, application-specific integrated circuit(ASIC) based devices.

What is claimed is:
 1. A computer program product for improving theclone efficiency in a hybrid cloud environment between a correspondingpublic cloud environment and a corresponding private cloud environmentby leveraging the speed variations between an inner partitioned set oftracks of a storage disk and an outer partitioned set of tracks of thestorage disk stored in the public cloud environment, the computerprogram product comprising a computer readable storage medium havingstored thereon: first program instructions programmed to receive arequest for a clone operation for a target data from the private cloudenvironment, the target data located in the public cloud environmentwhere the public cloud environment provides the storage disk for aprocessing operation performed by the hybrid cloud computingenvironment; second program instructions programmed to estimate animportance level of the target data by determining at least whether thetarget data includes intermittent data to be used by the computeresource for the processing operation of the private cloud environmentwhere the private cloud environment provides the compute resource forthe processing operation performed by the hybrid cloud computingenvironment; and third program instructions programmed to determinewhether to write the target data to the inner partitioned set of tracksor to the outer partitioned set of tracks of the storage disk based, atleast in part, on the importance level of the target data with respectto the processing operation.
 2. The computer program product of claim 1,wherein: the importance level is high if the target data includes theintermittent data to be used by the computing component.
 3. The computerprogram product of claim 1, wherein the determining whether to write thetarget data to the inner partitioned set of tracks or to the outerpartitioned set of tracks of the storage disk is further based on afirst importance level and a second importance level, the firstimportance level triggering the target data to be written to the outerpartitioned set of tracks on the storage disk, the second importancelevel triggering the target data to be written to the inner partitionedset of tracks on the storage disk.
 4. The computer program product ofclaim 3, further comprising: fourth program instructions programmed todetermine contents of the target data; wherein: the contents of thetarget data include an operating system image and a separated datavolume.
 5. The computer program product of claim 4, further comprising:fifth program instructions programmed to segregate the operating systemimage according to the second importance level such that the operatingsystem image is segregated to the inner partitioned set of tracks; andsixth program instructions programmed to segregate the separated datavolume according to the first importance level such that the separateddata volume is segregated to the outer partitioned set of tracks.
 6. Acomputer system for improving the clone efficiency in a hybrid cloudenvironment between a corresponding public cloud environment and acorresponding private cloud environment by leveraging the speedvariations between an inner partitioned set of tracks of a storage diskand an outer partitioned set of tracks of the storage disk stored in thepublic cloud environment, the computer system comprising: a processorset; and a computer readable storage medium; wherein: the processor setis structured, located, connected and/or programmed to run programinstructions stored on the computer readable storage medium; and theprogram instructions including: first program instructions programmed toreceive a request for a clone operation for a target data from theprivate cloud environment, the target data located in the public cloudenvironment where the public cloud environment provides the storage diskfor a processing operation performed by the hybrid cloud computingenvironment; second program instructions programmed to estimate animportance level of the target data by determining at least whether thetarget data includes intermittent data to be used by the computeresource for the processing operation of the private cloud environmentwhere the private cloud environment provides the compute resource forthe processing operation performed by the hybrid cloud computingenvironment; and third program instructions programmed to determinewhether to write the target data to the inner partitioned set of tracksor to the outer partitioned set of tracks of the storage disk based, atleast in part, on the importance level of the target data with respectto the processing operation.
 7. The computer system of claim 6, wherein:the importance level is high if the target data includes theintermittent data to be used by the computing component.
 8. The computersystem of claim 6, wherein the determining whether to write the targetdata to the inner partitioned set of tracks or to the outer partitionedset of tracks of the storage disk is further based on a first importancelevel and a second importance level, the first importance leveltriggering the target data to be written to the outer partitioned set oftracks on the storage disk, the second importance level triggering thetarget data to be written to the inner partitioned set of tracks on thestorage disk.
 9. The computer system of claim 8, further comprising:fourth program instructions programmed to determine contents of thetarget data; wherein: the contents of the target data include anoperating system image and a separated data volume.
 10. The computersystem of claim 9, further comprising: fifth program instructionsprogrammed to segregate the operating system image according to thesecond importance level such that the operating system image issegregated to the inner partitioned set of tracks; and sixth programinstructions programmed to segregate the separated data volume accordingto the first importance level such that the separated data volume issegregated to the outer partitioned set of tracks.